Strategic Human Resources Briefs

Fortune favors the bold, goes the old Roman saying. Our research suggests fortune is not alone in this: so do the Americans and the Chinese. But although some cultures do like boldness in their leaders, and reward it when they see it, this isn’t universally true.

D&I professionals do not object to being relevant to the mission of their organizations or to leveraging D&I as an enabler of business strategy. Most agree that all elements of the business, including D&I, must deliver results to help achieve the collective goals of the organization.

Women’s networks – also known as affinity or employee resource groups – are typically viewed by businesses as an essential pillar of their efforts to increase the number of women in leadership roles. Yet, new research shows that networks frequently fail to make headway, leading to frustration and disengagement among female employees.

Measuring D&I’s ROI (return on investment) helps leaders demonstrate the impact of their work by comparing the cost of a solution to its monetary payback, and demand for this metric continues to grow. A challenge in our field, though, is the limited investment often devoted to D&I initiatives.

The way in which companies approach diversity and inclusion and corporate responsibility has come to define the corporate sector in the twenty-first century, as stakeholders demand an increasingly responsible approach to business by the world’s largest companies.

The 2015 new study “How Americans Manage Their Finances”1 provides insights into financial management and at all ages. The study provides insights into use of financial products, debt, financial stresses, and planning for the future by age group. This article offers a few highlights from the study and my views about the implications for employers and employee benefits.

The most recent Society of Actuaries’ post-retirement risk research, released in January 2016, offers insights into financial shocks experienced by older Americans and into how older Americans perceive and manage financial risks. The focus groups were designed to understand how retirees were doing and how much they had been affected by shocks.

Simply put, we should license leaders. Think about it. No other professional group impacts as many lives on a daily basis as those who call themselves leaders. They impact the lives of employees, clients, customers, constituents, and patients.

In the face of increasingly complex problems and progressively compelling opportunities, your Diversity and Inclusion goals and objectives are not going away. We have a responsibility to design innovative ways of working that can deliver better results.

I hope that the new rules on prosecuting individuals represent a step toward the recognition that corporate misdeeds are almost invariably the product of corporate culture, and corporate culture is a product of the aims and values of senior management.